No Destination Set
by 2014archer
Summary: Saving a Pokemon's life leaves a huge emotional impact on them that will never fade, especially if that Pokemon is a Gardevoir. Being dependent on emotions and care means they would do anything to protect the one they care about the most, especially her savior: a simple young wandering man.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: The first fanfic I've done on this subject, so I'll try as best as I can to keep it going regardless of popularity.**

I looked out at the scene spread before me: a tranquil lake in a clearing surrounded by exotic and colorful flowers. The lake in question had no ripple or blemish on the surface of the water to ruin it; a perfect scene for relaxing. On top of it all there were many Pokemon surrounding it and flying over it, dancing in the sun. The serenity of it seemed to radiate outwards and capture prey that looked like an easy meal. Its beauty captivated me a couple hours ago and wouldn't let go. I can't seem to look away and the Pokemon near it seemed to agree. Bird Pokemon chirped in the mid-afternoon as they sat in the shade of the trees that were surrounding such a scene, probably with a nest and their family or just passing by. Somehow I don't think they would be leaving soon.

Behind me there was a mountain range that reached pretty far into the sky, but was not the volcano that I came to see. I was currently in the Hoenn region, enjoying the mountain range that was in the North West corner of the region. I had planned to scale the mountain after this relaxation period.

I broke my thoughts as I once again turned my attention to the clearing where I was camping out. I had gotten here yesterday and decided to stay just a day longer. Never before had I seen something this breath-taking. Well, at least at sea level that is. I travel around a lot but unlike most people I'm not a trainer. I don't have a partner and don't think I will soon. I don't even have another human being to share these sights with, although I wish I did.

I sighed inwardly, as to not disturb any Pokemon that were near me if only for a few more seconds, _'I better get something to eat...'_ I thought to myself as I got up from my sitting position. As it turns out there were a couple curious small Pokemon, a Caterpie and a Pichu, that thought I may have been a statue by how still I was. I had learned not to move as much when caught up in my mind like that. It really helps when soaking in the views and catching a few glimpses of some of the rarer Pokemon.

As I got up I stretched, getting a few satisfying pops in my back. Before heading into the foliage of the forest behind me, though, I decided to see the crystal clear lake from up close.

As I looked in I noticed that the water acted as a full-body mirror and more, giving me a picture-perfect view of myself.

I ran a hand through my slightly messy sandy-blonde hair. My bright blue eyes stared into the equally blue water as I noticed a leaf had fallen onto my hair. _'Looks like fall is coming.'_ I thought to myself as I plucked it off and set it outside the lake and far away as to not disturb the calm waters. I looked back at the water and saw the usual skinny body with a black tee, jeans, red tennis shoes, and a red jacket. I was just over 6 feet, about an inch taller.

I had turned seventeen about half a year ago in January and had a very cold fall and winter ahead before I turned eighteen. So it's been about three and a half years since I left home.

I was still pretty young being only fourteen when I left home, although most of the kids were ten when they moved out.

Mother seemed heartbroken when I left for my adventure, keeping me as long as she could before the inevitable happened. I was supposed to leave the house in the morning, but ended up staying into the afternoon. But I guess that's how all mother are, although mine is a bit more protective.

Father tried to soothe mother when it was time, but she couldn't come to grips with it. Father encouraged me to go out and see the world, but was disappointed when I said I didn't want to be a trainer like the rest of the kids. I was already supposed to have left the house when I was ten to become a trainer, but told them "I wanted to wait a bit longer." Mother was more than happy with that, but father not so much. He still supported my decision, though, which I appreciated.

When they found out I didn't want to be a trainer, they asked me why. I said I loved the solitude and I thought it would only help me develop as a person at the time. After only the first year out of the house I figured out that I become lonely rather quick. I had not met many people on my journey, though the ones I did meet were rather friendly, usually being on the same trip I was. The encounter would be an accidental meet-up with a stranger, see some sights, then go our separate ways.

I snapped out of my reminiscing when my stomach growled. Guess my stomach didn't agree with my idling around thinking on the past.

_'Alright I'm going,'_ I thought to my stomach with a smirk etching its way on my face. I amuse myself too much.

I walked out into the woods behind me and started my search for some berries. Since Oran berries are so common, I came across a tree full of them immediately. My diet had turned mostly into Oran berries and a bit of the different types over the years. I didn't mind, though, I find them to be a very appealing meal. I picked my share of berries off the small tree and downed them pretty fast, only savoring the after taste of the sweet orbs.

After satisfying myself with the abundant berry, I headed back to camp. It was just a short walk and when I got back I saw the mountain that was right beside the nice clearing that I found. It provided some nice shade in the later hours of the day, causing it to feel like night times before it should be.

At the moment the sun was just peaking over the mountain and it was going to start getting cooler soon. I decided that I would start to pack up my things in my tent and start up the mountain to get somewhere before having to stop again. I trekked to my tent before-

***BAANG***

The ground shook a bit as I snapped toward the direction of the explosion: the mountain. A short while after the loud noise a cloud of dust was visible in the trees. Whatever caused this could not have been harmless.

I started running into the forest toward the dust cloud. I then heard a faint wail when I got close enough to see the cloud through the trees. It got louder as I got closer, sounding like a loud sobbing and screaming. The dust was right in front of me, and I didn't hesitate to dash into it to try and find whatever was making such a noise. After about a minute I realised I couldn't find it if I couldn't see a thing. Luckily enough the dust wasn't that thick and settled in time.

What I saw after it cleared was a gigantic pile of heavy stones. They were gray and looked pretty hard to move. I heard a screeching noise coming from the other side. It sounded female, but I wasn't about to wait around to figure out whether what was making the noise was human or not. I climbed the rocks and jumped over the roughly 10 feet tall pile, not wasting any time in getting to the distressed being. It looked as if these rocks fell from the mountainside itself.

When I landed on the other side I quickly scanned the side of the rock pile to find anything. When I looked left I didn't see anything, but when I looked right I saw something that made my heart skip a beat and made my breath catch in my throat.

I saw a green and white almost completely humanoid figure. She had curled green hair that was heavily disheveled and covered in a layer of dust. She had on what looked to be a white ballgown that looked like it should have been pearl white, but it was covered in dirt and dust. The being's face was also peppered with dust, but most of it had washed away with the amount of tears streaking her face. She had her eyes squeezed shut in a pained grimace, her teeth grit, almost painfully, only to open when she let out a scream of pain. I looked next to her green arm-

_'Wait, "arm"?'_

Her right arm was the only one that was visible. I looked to her left to find it was buried under the massive amount of rocks, a small puddle of red coming from underneath it.

At this sight I sprang into action. I approached the quivering figure and, as if sensing me, her eyes snapped open and focused directly on me. Her eyes were a ruby red, but they were dilated with pain and fear. Upon seeing me she tried to move away from me, frightened. But with where her arm was and how painful the rocks were making her position already, she only ended up bringing a giant amount of pain to herself. So instead she just curled up as best she could and sobbed harder.

At this point I reached her, got on my knees next to her, and said gently, "Shhh. It's okay, I'm not here to hurt you. Just stop moving and I'll try to get you free." She didn't seem to hear me completely, but she could sense that I had no ill intentions so she relaxed if only a tiny bit. Still whimpering loudly and crying, she started grasping the base of her arm, trying to reduce the pain with no avail. I remembered reading in a book back in school about psychic Pokemon. Unfortunately if a Psychic-type was in too much pain, it couldn't focus on using its abilities. So she couldn't help with the process or set herself free in the first place. Since she was purely Psychic and Fairy, she didn't have as much muscle mass as a lot of the other Pokemon. I decided to get to work on getting her free immediately so she could escape this torment.

I followed her arm into the pile of rocks with my eyes and saw that it hadn't completely buried it. In fact it looked to be in a small hole, but it was squeezing on her none the less. I started digging out the moderately sized stones, making some progress pretty fast. Half way through her arm the rocks started getting bigger. I struggled a bit under the increasing weight and the rocks above her arm. I was nearing the end of her arm and almost set her free when I covered the source of her pain.

Covering her hand and wrist was a giant rock. There was blood pooling around it and it didn't look in good shape. Her hand and wrist bones had shattered under the pressure of the falling behemoth of a rock, flattening it considerably. My breath quickened as I stared at the gruesome tragedy that this Pokemon had the misfortune of receiving. Shaking my head quickly to get rid of my stupor, I got up to get the other rocks off the giant one. After doing so, all I had to do was lift this one, if only slightly, for the sobbing Pokemon to move out from under it.

I glanced at the downed Pokemon, it staring intently at me with a completely red and tear stained face, before smiling softly and nodding slightly at it as I put my back to the boulder, placing my feet on either side of her arm. I leaned down and caught the edge of the rock with my hands before hoisting myself up with it with all my strength. I grit my teeth as I strained myself to lift it and relieve the pressure on the poor thing's hand. The boulder gave a good fight but eventually lifted an inch off of the Pokemon's arm. The Pokemon immediately took her hand out from under the death trap and cradled it gently as it wept loudly.

With a grunt I let go of the massive thing that had almost broken my back and kneeled next to the Pokemon, catching my breath. As I did this I looked at the broken hand that the Pokemon had in her other hand, her knees close to her chest.

It was a morbid sight to behold. It was mangled and twisted at an odd angle with a ton of dead skin peeling off of it… Wait…-

I had to quickly look away as my stomach churned from the sight. The stuff that I thought was dead skin peeling off was actually shreds of muscle. This was the main source of the bleeding and why she needed immediate medical attention. If something like that were to get infected, it could be fatal.

Without thinking I reached my arms out, my left slipping under her knees and the right went across her back gripping her good arm. She gave a weak attempt at a struggle but immediately stopped when her movements caused a large jolt of pain to emit from her destroyed hand. She went back to cradling it as I picked her up gently and went straight back to camp.

**A/N: The chapters may get longer from here on out, but they will definitely stay about the same length.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This chapter will be shorter as I'm still introducing the plot and such. Also, midterms. Hurray. **

I rushed back to the campsite, but carefully, where I could find and bring out my first-aid kit. Mother had packed it for me before I left, but I never used it much, only for a small cut or something like that. This was the first time I would need to use it for a serious purpose. I would need to thank mother profusely when I next saw her.

Gently setting the broken mess of a Pokemon on her back right outside my small tent, I saw her still cradling her arm and weeping. I hurried into the small temporary shelter and quickly rummaged through the small pile of belongings I brought with me on my journeys. It was just a standard backpack with extra pockets for other small needed things.

I quickly found what I was searching for and brought it and a blanket outside to aid the Pokemon in her recovery. It was a rather large white box with a red cross in the center of the lid, signalling it was for medical emergencies. I took out the first thing I needed to help the wound recover: disinfectant. I winced inwardly as I thought of her reaction to the pain she would feel from this and only hoped she would trust me enough to do this.

I sat down a little to the left of her. I then gingerly stuck my hand out and quietly asked, "Could you show me your hand? I promise I mean no harm I just need to help heal it."

She looked at me with fear in her eyes while still clutching her hand close to her. When she saw the first-aid, however, her eyes softened a bit as she saw it. She slowly but surely stretched her shaking arm out, cautiously offering her hand for me to examine. _'Hm… She seems to know what a first-aid kit is,'_ I thought to myself as I gently rested her hand in mine.

My least favorite part of the bandaging process had to be done, so I said, "This looks very bad, so you have to keep it clean. I'm going to pour a bit of alcohol on it, please trust me when I say this is for the best. It's going to sting a bit so try to keep calm and stay still," trying to reassure her. She seemed to understand thankfully enough, nodding with her eyes clenched shut.

I decided to hurry up and get the worst part over with. I placed her injured hand on the blanket I got from the tent. "Grab my hand if you need to," I said, getting up and re-positioning myself behind her head and laying my free hand near her good hand. She didn't make an immediate movement to grab it, instead just clenching her hand.

I started to pour the alcohol on her exposed hand and got an instant reaction from her. Her eyes flashed open and she started screaming loudly as her back arched. The alcohol burned her exposed flesh, sending waves of searing pain through her. After a second of this she actually reached for my hand with her good one and squeezed it incredibly painfully. I grimaced as she continued to suffocate my hand and effectively cut off the blood flow. I spread the alcohol quickly and stopped, causing her to loosen her grip after a while and open her hand. I put down the disinfectant and reached for a towel that I had brought with me. I wiped her hand of all the blood and alcohol then reached for the gauze that was in the kit.

I started gently wrapping it around her hand while saying to her, "It's alright… The worst is over with… Nothing to worry about now…" Of course that at least a little bit of a lie, as the wound could still get infected later on if I wasn't careful. I finished wrapping the hand with one final wrap and kept it together with some gauze tape. It wasn't hospital level treatment but it was all I could do with what I had. I would have to to take her to civilization tomorrow since it was already too late.

With that said I looked up and saw that the sun was nowhere in sight. After freeing the Pokemon from her prison, I had noticed that at least an hour had gone by from the event. I switched my attention to the frightened Pokemon beside me. Although I could see that she was trying to cry, she ran out of tears a while ago. She was still shaking from the pain... Wait no she wasn't.

Suddenly I noticed that she was shivering from being cold. It had gotten colder ever since summer had come to an end, the sun setting earlier and earlier. I cursed myself for my ignorance and decided to make up for it. Once again I positioned my arms uncer her knees and back and picked her up. This time she gave no resistance and instead put her head in my shoulder while caressing her hand.

_'At least she seems to trust me,'_ I thought as I crouched low and entered my small abode with her still in my arms. I placed her on top of my sleeping bag and noticed that she fell asleep almost immediately. She must have been tired from today's ordeals. I'm definitely taking her to a Center come morning.

The day was practically over and my day for tomorrow was set in stone, so I decided to get to bed. Ah, right. That. Since my usual spot was occupied I thought I would use the bloodstained blanket to keep warm for tonight. I chose a spot next to the tent and brought the blanket over to it. I settled down on the grass and threw the blanket over me while keeping the bloodstain away.

_'Let's see me explain this to mother...'_ I thought before I promptly blacked out from exhaustion.

**A/N: So short...**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Alright, one more chapter until I'm taking a break until my winter break (December 20).**

**One thing to clear up about this: This story takes into account all Pokemons' ability to regenerate way faster than humans, so Gardevoir's hand has already started to reshape its bones. It just needs time and a proper place to realign itself.**

**Anyways, enjoy.**

My slumber seemed to be disturbed as I felt something partially invade my mind in the night, as if it was weakened. I waved it off as just a part of the dream for the moment. I had other things to worry about than something like this.

I slowly stirred subconciously as my sleep came to an end. I remembered that I had a visitor to take care of until I could get proper medical attention, so I woke up a bit faster. I sat up and stretched for a quick minute before finally getting to my feet. I decided I should check up on my patient that could be up or even, I shuddered at the idea, gone. I paced toward my tent and could faintly hear the soft breathing that was no doubt coming from my guest. I peeked in and to my relief saw that she was sleeping soundly, barely disturbed and her lips slightly open.

Figuring she would be asleep for a while longer, I thought about gathering some food for her when she wakes up. There's no way she wouldn't be hungry when she woke up. I grabbed my bag and was about to leave for the forest, but I had to think for a second on what her diet was.

I realized that I had no idea what Pokemon she even was, let alone her diet. She doesn't look to be a carnivore or anything, so berries should be fine. I may have to find a variety in case she needed something specific. _'I better hurry up get going before she wakes up while I'm gone,'_ I thought before slipping into the dense vegitation behind us.

It took longer than I thought it would to get a good selection of berries for both of us. There were more than enough Oran berries in the forest but it was much more difficult to find some of the rarer berries like the couple of Ganlon berries I managed to find. Hopefully the berry would relieve some of the pain she felt in her time of need. I just hope she didn't leave with that hand of hers.

I came out from the forest with the bag strapped to my shoulders and looked up to see her looking out at the serene lake. I was more than relieved to see that she had gotten up but didn't leave, although she was still holding her hand. I couldn't see her face, but I could tell she was frozen looking at the scene. Guess she hasn't been around here before.

"You know you shouldn't be moving that hand around, right?" I said, startling her as she whirled around to see me moving towards her. I took the bag off my back and took out one of the rare Ganlon berries. "Hungry?" I asked holding it our for her. She stared at me for a second before snapping out of it and finally glancing at the berry. She blushed softly and nodded, taking the berry hesitantly from my hand and seemingly embarassed. "You need to lie down, ya know. Your hand won't heal right if it's moving a lot," I told her as she nibbled on the morsel, having some difficulty with the hard blue food. She left her injured hand hanging by her side, very still while her good hand held the berry. She grimaced from the discomfort of her hand being pulled down by gravity.

She looked at me and nodded her understanding as she knelt down on the soft grass, eventually lying flat on her back with her left arm laying motionless. She closed her eyes and soaked in the sunlight that was streaming through the trees. Despite her pain she smiled slightly, finally feeling at peace. I felt as if I should give her some time alone as I put a considerable amount of berries next to her good hand.

'Thank you...' an unknown voice whispered to me as I had turned to leave. I stopped and looked around trying to pin the source of the voice. Realization dawned on me as I remembered that some Psychic-types could use telepathy to communicate to humans. I turned to her slowly just as she finished the hard Ganlon, making her smile widen as a slight bit of her agony was lifted straightaway.

I smiled a bit and simply replied, "You're welcome," before turning and walking away for a bit back into the forest.

Eventually I returned to where she was resting previously after a couple hours. I found her in the exact same spot she was before, thankfully, but this time with her eyes open and the berry pile empty. I looked up to the sky in the clearing before deducing that it was at least noon if not earlier. It was the perfect time of the day to be where she was, but we had to get her to a Center.

I took one more look at her from where I was standing and noticed something a bit peculiar about her. She had a... gem piercing clean through where her diaphragm would be. It was a light red or dark-ish pink depending on the viewer and was a stark contrast to the rest of her body, except for her eyes. Other than the painful looking protrusion she was completely human. No, wait, what are those?

Where a human's ears would be, she had three spikes that stood up and over her green hair. They didn't look like they moved, probably very rigid. I wonder if those were her ears?

Speaking of wondering, what exactly is she? I've read about the names of Pokemon back in school, but she has just slipped my mind completely. The only reason I know her typing is because we had a special lesson on the new Fairy-Types. Once they were discovered in Kalos it was mandatory to learn and memorize all of what they do, are weak against, and are strong against. And on top of it all we had to do a project on a specific one for each of us. I remember a kid that researched this one, but I can't remember,for the life of me,the name of her.

"Gardevoir."

Ah, right, gardevoir. That's what she... hm? I realized that I wasn't the one to say it, so I turned to the gardevoir to find that she had turned her head slightly to look at me out of the corner of her eye. Oh man those eyes...

"Was that you?" I asked. _'I guess that's one way to start a conversation,'_ I thought to myself. "And were you reading my mind?" Way to be subtle...

Despite the blunt tone she politely nodded. "I'm guessing that was you last night then?" Will I ever learn any social skills?

She nodded slightly and looked back up through the trees. _'Guess I should just ask her,'_ I thought before saying, "Do you think you can travel yet? We've got to get that hand checked out." Gardevoir tried to move her hand before visibly flinching at the movement and stopping. I instantly regretted asking her as she showed her pain. She's already been through enough. "Give me a second," I said before disappearing into my tent. I knew I had some extra cloth for various uses and that's exactly what I found. It was rectangular shape and would have to work.

I walked outside with the cloth in my hands and approached the still supine gardevoir asked, "Can I see you arm again? This won't hurt, it's just to help you when standing up." She sat up with difficulty, which I hated, and stuck her arm out for me. I carefully slid the cloth under her arm and brought both ends up and toward her neck. She shivered as I accidentally grazed the back of her neck. I tied off the cloth on the opposite side of her neck and just above her shoulder. This effectively made a makeshift sling for her hand until it healed properly. I stood up and looked at my handiwork. Again, it wasn't Pokecenter quality, but it would do.

She hesitantly stood up as the cloth caught her hand and gave it a place to rest. Once she was on her feet, she smiled and looked at her hand. After a quick glance she looked back to me and nodded. I nodded back and gestured her to wait for a bit as I packed up my things. Turning around I got to work collapsing and packing my tent.

The better part of an hour later and we were set to leave. We would set off into the forest to find a path that would lead us to the nearest town or city. I believe we would be heading to Rustboro. With one final look back to the clearing I noticed that most of the Pokemon that had rested there yesterday had fled,probably from the explosion that occured. How unfortunate. I sighed and looked to my partner... Wait, partner?

Well I guess that's partially true. She is indeed travelling with me if only for a few miles. I had no doubt that she would want to go back to the wild when she was fully healed. I guess I better enjoy the company while I can, this is the closest anyone's gotten to me besides my parents after all.

Gardevoir shuffled her feet uncomfortably.

I looked ahead to the deep forest ahead of us before stepping into it. I motioned for Gardevoir to follow my lead with a friendly smile. She smiled back shyly and stepped forward. I predicted that the journey to Rustboro would take about 4 hours, so I had picked a few more berries for us to snack on. I once again sighed and continued walking at a steady pace, Gardevoir following me in step. This was going to take a long while...

**A/N: Alright, still not as long as I'd like it to be, but I'll work longer on the next chapter during the around week grace period. I'll see you guys next week I guess.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Merry Early Christmas everyone. Midterms are gone and winter break is a go. **

**To FutureFighterV: I think I messed up my wording on that message, so let me correct it by saying that I didn't mean faster than a chapter a day. I originally meant faster than one chapter for the more than a week thing I did here. Sorry for that.**

**GuestORAS: I find that really meaningful already...**

**Rosco Peeko Trane: WordPad does that to you. You can't insert text without cutting and pasting it or else whatever you type deletes what's in front of it sometimes. Now I know what you're thinking: 'WordPad?'**

**I don't know either.**

**Now then, let's get on to the chapter shall we?**

"Speech"

_'Thought'_

_"Telepathy"  
><em>

Now when I planned this trip to Rustboro out I had originally thought that having Gardevoir walking with me would allow me someone to talk to during this. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to forcefully make her talk or anything, but she's quieter than any individual I have ever seen. I guess it only makes sense though, she should be pretty nervous around me. She just went through hell and back, I wouldn't want to talk about it either if I were her. But I'd also want some comfort or reassurance or something... Should I do that?

Pokemon can be pretty hard to read sometimes... especially since they can't talk to humans.

...Or they choose not to.

That situation leads us to now. We were currently a fair distance away from the clearing we were at; about a half an hour's worth of walking in fact. The trees we walked past and the Pokemon we saw were only remembered for a brief moment before we broke eye contact with them. Who could remember them longer anyway? It's the same with everything humans see. We just don't realize it sometimes. So here I am, pretty much bored out of my mind from the lack of interaction happening and hoping that an icebreaker would come from out of nowhere.

Sure enough, it didn't.

I briefly glanced at the figure beside me, pretty much the only attention we've given each other thus far. She definitely wouldn't be forgetting this encounter any time soon I hope. I would if my life was saved, why wouldn't she? To be honest I won't forget this experience anyway. I just potentially saved someone's life for Arceus's sakes! She's suffering right now and will keep suffering for a few days until her appendage is fully recovered. I wish her well and hope she feels better really soon, I can't bare seeing her like this. I can only hope she can leave to go back home quickly and get away from her torment.

...But damn, I can't help but think how I'd miss her when she's gone. Which reminds me, why have I not tried talking to her again?

I had been pondering on whether I should break the ice from the first step forward, but somehow I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I just couldn't think of what to say, what do I say? Nothing that could make this situation less awkward I suppose. Let's try it.

"...So err..." This caught her attention, earning me a quick look from her. Hey, this is going pretty good so far. "I, uh, don't think I've really introduced myself to you, have I?" She looked back at me and kept her eyes on me as she awaited my response. "My name is Dallas, a wanderer if you will. I don't really stay in one spot, only moving from town to town to restock on supplies. I don't have a 'journey's end', just a um... passion for nature I guess," I explained while Gardevoir listened. She soaked the little information I gave her and remembered it.

_"...Hi...Dallas..."_ There's that same voice in my head, the telepathy that Gardevoir used to communicate. Although the voice was obviously artificial, it held a lot of emotion in it, as if she was speaking herself. I had to admit, she sounded a bit scared. I couldn't tell whether she was just shy or she was shying away from the conversation. I chuckled lightly at this.

"Really, there's no reason to be so shy around me. I already told you before, but I'll say it again. I'm not going to hurt you," I soothed her, trying to get her to lighten up and trust me a little bit more. It seemed to work for the most part, as I noticed she was taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. I turned my attention to the surroundings around me. I looked at the sky and found that it had considerably darkened. Dark clouds had appeared at some point during the day and I failed to notice. How did I let that happen? Well, I guess if it's going to rain today we better step up the pace. There's no telling when it's going to start pouring.

I turned once again to my travelling partner. "We better hurry; don't want to get caught in the rain right?" She nodded to me, more confidently this time, and quickened her pace slightly. I kept up by her side.

Suddenly, a thought passed through my mind. Something I wanted to ask her.

"Say, Gardevoir," I started a bit slowly. She looked at me from the corner of her eyes. "Err, what happened? At the mountain I mean," I continued, although I felt this might be a touchy subject.

I was right. She instantly broke eye contact and looked down, visibly flinching and whimpering slightly as tears started to well up in the corners of her eyes. She slowed her pace immensely. _'Damn it, look at what you've done,'_ I cursed myself. This is definitely not the reaction I wanted. I immediately tried comforting her, "Ah! I'm sorry Gardevoir, I didn't mean to do that to you. I just got curious and... well..." I stopped and thought about making up for my lacking sensitivity.

Absent-mindedly, I slid over to her side and draped my arm across her shoulders. She flinched again and seemed frightened for a second but warmed up to it. Eventually relaxing a bit but shaking from the horrid memory. She's going to need some consoling, whatever happened must not have been pretty.

We continued like that for a while, and we were making some decent progress on our way to Rustboro. Soon after, we found a path that was made for trainers on their travels. No one was on the path, though, so we had the whole width of it to ourselves. It was strange really, this was a popular city so why wasn't there anyone here? I figured it would become clear if we walked farther.

"Hm?" I looked around a bit, wasn't this supposed to have trainers somewhere around here or something? "Gardevoir, why do you think no one's around here?" Gardevoir only shook her head a bit and continued walking.

...And become clear it did. Once we had gone down the path for at least half a mile, something very unexpected happened. A small flock of Swellow dove right down to us, and they looked MAD. About what, I don't know but something must have pissed them off pretty badly, because they were out for revenge on something. The birds themselves were quite large, a bit too big for any normal Swellows. They saw us and immediately gave their undivided attention to us, directing multiple glares at us. I swallowed a bit nervously and looked on at them, my mind racing as to what to do. My mind was made up for me as Gardevoir stepped in front of me in a protective manner. My mind went into protest-mode right away.

"Gardevoir! What are you doing?!" I said rather loudly, but she just ignored me. Or so it seemed. It turns out she was just extremely focused on the beings in front of us.

_"Returning the favor..."_ she said quietly to me as she took on a sort of one-handed battle stance. I couldn't say anything else as I heard a whistling noise coming from in front of us. The first enemy approaches. The relatively large Swellow that came forward turned out to be quite fast, easily reaching a very impressive speed. It was currently streaking across the sky straight for Gardevoir, sure that it was going to hit its mark.

_"Slow..."_ I heard her think as she took on a dark tone and simply side-stepped the dive-bomb, letting it fly past. The Swellow hesitated, confused as it turned around to meet the bright, glowing, blue eyes that Gardevoir had taken on. But not only were they glowing, she narrowed them into a menacing glare. She held her hand out and brought the Swellow down hard. It slammed into the floor and was knocked unconscious in an instant. It stood no chance.

This in itself was pretty shocking to me. I didn't think she was so strong! This brought so many questions to me as I looked on. They would go unanswered for now, though, as another Swellow approached. It seemed hesitant at first; it must have seen what happened to its comrade. It's too bad it didn't take the hint. I watched on as Gardevoir stood stock-still as the Swellow rocketed toward her. If I was surprised before, I don't know what I was now after what Gardevoir did next.

She just closed her eyes slightly as she held her hand out and caught it in her hand, by its neck/chest area. The Swellow's eyes widened as it flailed about and crowed loudly. Gardevoir ignored its pleas and ignited a Will-o-Wisp in her hand, burning the Swellow painfully slow. I could only watch with the rest of the Swellows.

As this happened I noticed, out of my peripheral vision, another Swellow positioned behind her about a few hundred feet away. It started to flap its large wings and gain speed as it was headed straight for her back, keen on catching her by surprise. After seeing this, a flare of anger came over me. The thought of seeing her get hurt again enraged me. What a cheap move, I've got to do something about it. _'I won't let her suffer again,'_ I thought before jumping in to interfere.

Acting on instinct, I bolted forward and collided into Gardevoir's right side, sending both of us to the ground before the speeding Swellow ripped right through the air that Gardevoir had been at a second ago. I caught myself right before landing on top of Gardevoir and looked down at her. She was looking up at me with a completely flushed with red face and was gripping her arm. Oh no, did I hit it?

"Are you alright?" I asked with concern in my voice, worried for Gardevoir's health. I got onto my feet quickly and offered her my hand. She took it, shaking slightly, and attempted getting to her feet. I pulled her up and turned to the few disgruntled birds. The one that was previously in Gardevoir's hand was on the ground, writhing in pain with burns all over its body. The sight unnerved me.

Gardevoir must have sensed this as she too looked to the mess of a bird. _"I'm... sorry, Dallas..."_ she whispered through my mind, still nervous as always. She seemed especially upset at the fact that she did this and made me feel uncomfortable, although her safety was more important. I thought about getting away from these birds, just getting her to safety. I don't want to see her battle after already having a huge handicap; she could make her injury worse at this rate. With all these options going through my brain, the decision was once again made up for me.

They left. That's it. They seemed to scoff at us and threw one last glare before flying into the trees and disappearing from sight. Yet another thing I'll never understand about Pokemon. Maybe it was a pride thing? I wasn't about to argue, instead grabbing Gardevoir's good hand and taking off down the path once more. There wasn't much more distance to travel and I just wanted to get away from this path before something else showed up. _'There it is,'_ I thought as I saw the city ahead. Tall buildings on the horizon, seemingly scraping the sky... Wait.

I shook my pointless thoughts and slowed my pace, coming to a reasonable walk. I felt a bit of nervousness that didn't seem to be my own. I turned to the source and found it to be coming from Gardevoir. She was looking at me with a mixture of astonishment and nervousness etched on her face, surprised by my outburst. 'Oh right, I'm still holding her hand.'

I immediately let go and apologized for it. "Ah, s-sorry Gardevoir I just, didn't want to be near that place anymore and," I sighed, "I didn't want to see you get hurt..." I trailed off on the end.

She looked surprised to say the least. She must have heard the sincerity in my voice and picked up on it. _"Thank you... Again..."_

I smiled, "You're welcome again," before turning around and beginning the walk to the city. But just before I lost vision on her, I could see her smile back and try to hide a slight blush that was slowly creeping its way onto her face.

Although the walk was short, it gave the sky just enough time to drastically darken. It was nearing night, and I didn't want to be out here much longer. One because of the looming dark clouds overhead that were threatening to let loose any minute, and two because I was beginning to tire. I was nothing but glad when we reached the city limits.

We walked through the entrance to the city and noticed two things right away. First off, the city was incredibly crowded. I guess it was to be expected because of the popularity of the city, but this was a bit too much. You could barely walk in a straight line before bumping into someone. I figured that in the middle of this much people that I could lose Gardevoir easily, so I decided to keep her close. I offered her my hand so that we wouldn't get seperated in the crowd. Fortunately, she accepted the gesture graciously.

The second thing I noticed while we were walking. Some people can get unnerved by injuries.

A lot of people were staring at Gardevoir's wound. They seemed like they were disapproving of it, as if appalled by such a sight. Gardevoir got uneasy and nervous quickly; I held her closer and earned a slight blush from her. The reason as to why they acted this way was a bit confusing. It wasn't as if the bandage on her hand was blood-soaked or anything, it was actually quite clean with only a small spot of blood. I'll have to ask someone about this when I get to a Center. Speaking of which, where is it?

I scanned the surrounding buildings but came up with nothing, unfortunately enough. _'It must be deeper in the city,'_ I thought to myself while moving forward.

Gardevoir squeezed my hand a bit painfully, _"Dallas... How much farther...?"_I better find it quick.

After half an hour of searching for this damned Center I finally saw it: the red building with a Pokeball-like image on the front of it. I brought Gardevoir to the front of it and stepped in front of the automatic door, sliding it open in the process and allowing Gardevoir to step into the lobby first.

The lobby itself was rather empty for the most part. There were only a couple people sitting in the chairs at the edge of the room. I ignored the trainers and went immediately to the counters, Gardevoir by my side. Unfortunately she was still quite nervous, quickly gazing from side to side at some points. She was obviously not used to human technology.

A Nurse Joy was turned around behind the counter, messing with the healing machine that these Centers have. Her usual vibrant pink hair was made into two hoops, in the same way the rest of the Nurse Joys had and she was wearing a plain white apron. I cleared my throat as I approached and she jumped a bit before spinning around to see me. She put on a wide smile.

"Hello and welcome to the Pokemon Center my name is Nurse Joy! How can I help-oh..." Her eyes drifted to Garevoir's broken hand and her smile faded. She looked to me again and nodded, as if knowing what to do. She most likely does anyway.

Without a word she gestured Gardevoir to follow her into the back and into a room where she would be treated. A Chansey followed shortly after with a cart of medical supplies. I was left to sit and wait in silence.

After about an hour of waiting Nurse Joy came out to the lobby and approached me a bit angrily. She stopped in front of me and crossed her arms.

"What happened," she asked- no said, commanded more like it. I was afraid of having to explain this, but I knew it looked pretty bad for me. It's one thing for a Pokemon to receive friendly battle injuries, but another for an entirely crushed hand. I had to be honest; it didn't look good in my favor. She probably thinks I'm the one who did it for all I know.

I sighed before getting up and responding, "I know, I know it's bad. But believe me when I say I had nothing to do with it. I was camping over by the mountain range to the north-east when suddenly this explosion rocks the entire mountain-side. I don't know exactly what happened but when I got over there I found her there. Not only was she there, but her entire left arm was buried under rocks." I winced a bit at the memory. I didn't realize how scarring it was until now. She must have been terrified...

Shaking the thought off for the moment, I continued, "I freed her and did all I could to help her with what I had. Up until now we've been moving through the forest trying to get here; to get her some proper treatment." I finished my brief explanation with yet another sigh. I should start counting these.

Nurse Joy's glare had softened during the whole speech, and she eventually took on a friendlier smile. "Well it's a good thing you did. Her hand was slightly out of line so we had to fix that, but other than that she was recovering pretty well," she told me while going back to her desk. "It's nice to see a trainer that's so selfless when it comes to Pokemon. What's your name?"

"Dallas." A sudden thought occurred to me as we made it back to the counter. "Say, Nurse Joy, you wouldn't mind if I, um, checked up on her, do you?" I asked a bit suddenly. Nurse Joy looked up from the paperwork she had looked down to.

"Not at all, but she must have been exhausted after your little trip because she went straight to sleep after we finished and I left the room," she told me with that same smile.

"Ah, alright, well I'll still be in her room if you need me."

She nodded to me before telling me, "She's in the room down the hall and to the right; room '015', the very last one."

I nodded my appreciation before trudging through the door that led to the back of the building and made my way to the end of the hall. My movements were a bit sluggish as I myself felt tired too. The only thing I noticed while in the hall wasn't even something that was in the hall. I could only hear the sound of rolling thunder outside and the first few drops of rain hit the roof.

I shook off the sleep and finally reached the door that led to Gardevoir. The number '015' was engraved onto it, just as Nurse Joy said. I turned the handle and pretty much collapsed into the room. I caught myself just to get to a seat that was near Gardevoir's bed and fall onto that. I looked to the right, where Gardevoir was supposed to be, and found that she was passed out facing the ceiling, just as Nurse Joy had told me.

I spared myself of thinking too much on details as I leaned back in the chair and relaxed, relishing the feeling of the plush cushions on it and before I knew it I was out cold.

I awoke slower than usual. The amount of work I exerted yesterday had caught up to me during the night and had done a good deal on my body. Basically, I was much more tired than I ever have been. My eyelids felt heavy, as did some of my other limbs especially my legs.

A crack of thunder sounded outside, telling me that it continued storming throughout the night. I scanned the room before lifting myself from the chair and walking to a window that was located to the left of me. I pulled back the plastic blinds and took a look through. Outside it was pouring rain, the thick drops splattering on the window as if it was coming in sideways. It was too difficult to see through it to get a good luck outside, but I could tell that it was pretty early in the morning as it was still a bit dark outside. The sun must be coming up. I let the blinds fall back in front of it, almost completely covering it. This left me in a dark room, raindrops hammering on the roof above and the occasional thunder sounding.

This left me to examine the features of the room I was in. There were plain white walls, a tiled ceiling and a smooth, hard floor. Nothing in particular stood out except for the furniture, for some reason being a few shades more colorful than the rest of the room. I liked it to be honest, it took away some of the sterile and boring feel to the room. Not all of it, but some of it.

Through the blackness of the room I could see Gardevoir's sleeping form. Nurse Joy had put a cast on her left hand to keep it safe until it recovered. Her arm was raised in a sling, this one more professional than mine, and suspended slightly beside her. She was turned face-up towards the ceiling, her mouth slightly parted, as if finally at peace. Nurse Joy must have given her something for her pain.

The whole room was silent. The only thing I could hear was the sound of my breathing and Gardevoir's, who of course was still asleep... I hate hospitals, they're so boring. The only thing I could think of doing was going back to sleep.

So I did.

Falling backwards into my chair I once again rested my head back on the cushion and, after a bit of turning, went back to sleep.

A sharp rapping on the room's door roused me from my sleep. I slowly came to my senses and straightened my posture in the chair. The awkward pose that I slept in twice was taking a toll on my spine, a bit of pain coming from it. I stood up and stretched my back in the usual way, earning the usual pops from it. I finally opened my eyes to see that Gardevoir had awoken too, though she had a slight forlorn expression on her face. It was probably her bedridden state that put her in such a mood.

Another knock came from the door before it swung open slowly to reveal Nurse Joy and the same Chansey by her side.

"How is she feeling?" Nurse Joy asked me. I looked away from her, silently telling her that Gardevoir should answer that. She got the hint and looked to the Pokemon while Gardevoir only nodded. "Good, but you need to keep that hand there for a while, a week at most."

I turned back to the nurse, "A week?" I asked her, only slightly surprised. Of course, with her hand in the state it was now, it would take a while but I didn't expect it to be so long.

"That's right. We have to make sure this injury heals properly. We can't afford it reforming in the wrong way now can we?" She answered me matter-of-factly. She had a point, though. I'd hate to have to do all of this for nothing. It's better safe than sorry as anyone would say.

"I understand," was all I could say before looking to the window again. The blinds were covering it and blocking the view that it could give. I strode towards it and threw the blinds back. The rain had let up drastically during my presumably long nap. All that was left of it was a drizzle and very large puddles in the grass. The sky stayed grey, clouds still hovering overhead. Through the clouds I could see that it was sometime between noon and late morning.

"Sir, could I speak to you in private?" The sudden dialogue made me shake my thoughts. I turned to the nurse and saw her hand make a sweeping motion towards the open door. Turning my attention to Gardevoir, I saw her make a small nod. I nodded once and turned back to the nurse.

"Sure, and just call me Dallas." She nodded politely and gestured me to go out the door. I stepped through and saw her follow after me and softly close the door. I spun on my heels to face her. It was a habit I had.

She started, "I couldn't help but think about how she's a wild Pokemon." Ah, exactly what I expected from Nurse Joy. "Now usually they would be taken in or set free depending on what they wanted, but this case," she gestured to the door, "is different. Do you know how gardevoir are?" She didn't let me respond, "They make bonds with people, Dallas. If they are taken away from the one that they trust most, well, let's say it's not good." She paused to let me respond.

"Are you saying that we share a bond already?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. You may not see it now, Dallas, but she definitely trusts you. That's why I want you to become her trainer-"

"No," I interrupted her with a bit of force in my voice. 'Short and to the point,' as I always told myself. "I won't let her become my Pokemon."

Nurse Joy looked a bit scared at my tone, "W-what? Why n-not?"

"I'm not about to confine her to me as if she's my property or something. This is why I despise most trainers, a lot of them don't even care about their Pokemon let alone care for them. It disgusts me," I finished with a grimace. I couldn't stand the trainers running around today. They were usually snobbish hotshots that only seek power, not companionship.

To my surprise Nurse Joy's face split into a grin. "You don't know how much I loved hearing that," she told me before ushering me hurriedly to Gardevoir's room, setting me in front of it. "Talk with her about it, I bet she would love to tag along with you." Before I could say anything she opened the door in front of me, shoved me in and closed it. I stumbled forward slightly before raising my head and meeting the confused gaze of Gardevoir.

_'May as well get this over with...'_ I thought before straightening up and walking to the chair I slept in last night. I sat down on it, the chair next being next to the bed. I had my eyes on Gardevoir, but I made sure not to make her feel too uncomfortable. This was quite the important question after all.

I started out slowly, "Gardevoir... Nurse Joy asked me to uh..." She looked at me, even more confused, "...ask you if, instead of staying here after you recover," her eyes widened and she shook her head nervously, "...you'd like to come with me?" She hesitated for a second. It looked like she was quickly thinking about her decision. Surprisingly it didn't take long as she nodded a bit frantically. _'Hm, I guess Nurse Joy was right.'_ I gave her a second chance just to make sure, "Are you certain? I don't want you to feel like you have to." She nodded again, with more confidence but a bit of red on her face. _'I guess she's made up her mind.'_ I nodded a little before getting up and telling her, "Alright, I'll be back." She just nodded.

Still feeling a bit tired from just waking up a few minutes ago, I dragged my feet a bit as I made my short way to the door and opened it. Nurse Joy was wasn't on the other side, so I assumed she was at her desk probably talking to the trainers that came in.

I was right. She was talking to a short young boy; he couldn't have been more than five and a half feet tall, with sort of dull green hair. It was standing up in some places and didn't seem to want to stay down. He had a small satchel around his shoulder, probably containing his Pokeballs. He had on a blue jacket with a collared dress shirt on underneath; an odd combination. He was gripping the strap of his bag in a fit of nervousness, indicating he was the timid kind of person. As he was talking to Nurse Joy, or rather her talking to him, he unclasped his bag and pulled out a single Pokeball and handed it to her.

The boy was the only one that was in line at the Center, so I decided to wait until she was finished talking to the boy.

Eventually she finished healing his single Pokemon, handing the Pokeball to the young boy and waving to him as he left through the sliding doors. I approached the counter afterwards and stepped in front of her.

She smiled, "Ah, Dallas. How did it go?" She looked at me knowingly and could tell what the answer was.

I sighed but smiled, "Well, just as you said, she did want to come with me." The nurse's smile widened slightly. "I'll do the whole legal thing and all, but I'm not going to keep her in a Pokeball or something like that."

She shook her head, "That's none of my business, unless of course you were abusing a Pokemon in some way-"

My face fell into a scowl, "Don't even joke about that."

She shook her head again and smirked, "Just saying." I let myself smile a bit. Nurse Joy continued, "Now I'm going to need your Trainer's License for this," she held her hand out expectantly.

I did have a Trainer's License even though I didn't really want one. Every kid was handed one after they graduate from school. The only way you couldn't get one is if you weren't educated for at least a few years. Since I actually stayed a few years more than the average trainer, I actually had more knowledge on Pokemon the most people. I took a bit of pride in that, actually. It felt good to be able to say you were above a normal trainer.

I reached into my back pocket to pull out a solid black wallet. I opened the flaps and reached into the right pocket to pull out the small card that was a Trainer's License. I put the card into Nurse Joy's waiting hand and watched as she looked at it and started typing the information into a PC that was on the desk. Occasionally she would look back to the card to make sure she got it right.

I sighed again for what seemed to be the hundredth time in the past couple of days. I only had one thing on my mind as she was inputting the data into the machine, _'This is going to be a long week...'_

**A/N: It's Dallas.**

**And finally, a longer chapter.**

**I don't think I did a very good job on this chapter compared to the other ones, though. I feel like I didn't put as much time into this one as the last three, but that's my opinion. Honestly I had to cut this chapter short due to time constraints. To me, deadlines are deadlines; I had to get you something today.**

**Next chapter should be in a few days, probably before Christmas.**

**I'll catch you guys on the flip-side. Oh, and happy holidays again.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Here's a realization I've had:**

**Fanfiction does not like hyphens.**

**I've been using hyphens as breaks between time skips but as I've just found out, they don't show up. Ah well.**

**FutureFighterV: I hate egg nog.**

**SO HERE'S A CHAPTER.**

"Speech"

_'Thought'_

_"Telepathy"_

This past week, it wasn't what I was expecting to say the least. Nurse Joy had finished arranging Gardevoir's "adoption" and so, much to my dismay, Gardevoir was legally "mine". I just kept the idea away from my thoughts as much as I could since I didn't like it. I had always thought since I was little that Pokemon shouldn't be "owned" but instead as companions. I never expressed my thoughts on it since no one I met shared them. Actually now that I think of it, I never really expressed my thoughts period. Eh, I'll think on it later. This is about this week after all.

Nurse Joy was generous enough to provide the basic necessities for the both of us. I didn't expect her to give me anything and tried to turn her offer down the first time. I used the excuse of how I had money of own and could get something around the city, but she heavily insisted on it. I had no choice but give in and thank her for her kindness. I'll find a way to repay her someday.

For the entirety of Gardevoir's recovery week I stayed in that room with her. We spent most of the time sleeping really, nothing much happened. When we weren't asleep, we sat in an uncomfortable silence. Sure there were some of the casual exchanging of glances and swapping of phrases, usually me asking if she needed anything or was uncomfortable in any way. She never used her telepathy but did shake her head for the respective answer. I couldn't think of a single thing that could break the awkward silence; it was seemingly impenetrable. I would have to try and get her to warm up to me after all this.

Eventually the day came where Gardevoir was deemed "fully healed" and was to be cleared from the Center; today was that day. The cast that Gardevoir had on her arm had already been taken off, so her hand could breathe. I could finally see her hand how it was supposed to be; the light green, three-fingered, and flat appendage that it was. Although simple, I couldn't say I wasn't glad to see it, without the mangled part of course. I had to say, she made a very good recovery. It was pretty difficult to see any of the damage that she took to her hand. Not even a noticeable scar remained; it was completely clean.

"Wake up you two, today's the day!" Nurse Joy suddenly burst into the room, scaring both of us awake. She had developed a tendency to do that with the two of us specifically. Gardevoir sat up immediately and readied herself for any danger reflexively. Upon seeing Nurse Joy Gardevoir only groaned and went flopped back on the bed and turned over. I rubbed the sand from my eyes and noticed something right away: it was still dark in the room. I looked to the window, which had its blinds pulled back, to see that the sun was just barely beginning to rise. The only sign of it was a tinge of orange on the horizon.

"Nurse Joy, why did you wake us up so early? Also, what time is it anyway?" I asked her with a hint of annoyance. This was the first time she did this so early in the morning.

She didn't even bat an eyelid as she answered, "Around 6 A.M. The early bird gets the worm as I always say."

"6 A.M? I haven't woken up that early since I was last in school," I said as I got up and started my almost routine stretch. Gardevoir practically passed out after Nurse Joy's outburst, which was understandable. There was no doubt that I wanted to as well. "Nurse Joy? I don't think Gardevoir's ready to get up just yet," I told her before she thought of leaving.

The nurse became aware of Gardevoir's state and pouted a little. "Fine, but you two better be ready soon," she told me before leaving and shutting the door. I sighed as I looked toward Gardevoir's sleeping form. She looked really out of it; might be out for a couple more hours, maybe more. I was already fully awake, so I couldn't just go back to sleep. _'I guess I may as well waste some time,'_ I thought before walking to the door, opening it, and entering the hallway.

Not a soul was in the hallway; it must have been a slow day. I made my way into the lobby, and had set my sights on the sliding doors of the entrance to see if I could find something around town that I could distract myself with. On my way, however, something caught my eye, or someone actually. It turns out it was the same small green-haired boy that I saw a week ago. He was on one of the many seats that were on the edge of the room. Deciding I had nothing better to do, I decided to strike up a conversation with the young boy.

Taking a seat next to the lad, I started, "Hi there."

The young boy jumped before turning to me, "Oh... Hello..."

_'The shy type, huh? I wonder why I run into those a lot,'_ I pondered before continuing, "I saw you here a week ago; what happened this time?" I knew he was a trainer, but there had to be a reason to stay in the city for so long. Trainers usually travelled across the entire region, so why didn't he?

The young boy started to fidget, "Er, well, um, my Pokemon, he fainted after a battle so..." He trailed off at the end.

I nodded understandingly, "Good. You should keep them healed." The tone of my voice had gone a bit melancholy during the last sentence. The boy looked at me curiously and got a bit more nervous from the looks of it. He may have been sweating lightly at this point, but I didn't notice if he was. I snapped out of my moment and returned my attention to him. "So, anyway, my name's Dallas. I've been here for the past week doing... nothing." Okay, not my best explanation. I held out my hand for a handshake and he hesitantly took it.

"I'm... Wally..." He only placed his hand on mine, doing what most people would call a "dead fish" handshake. After the strange greeting, I pulled away slowly.

"Nice to meet you... Now then, what Pokemon do you have?"

**A/N: Merry... Christmas?**

**I got side-tracked with the ever overpowered League of Legends and "osu!". This chapter is, therefore, shorter because of these things. Sorry 'bout that.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Happy New Year. 2015 is here, but so is this chapter tho.**

**This was supposed to be finished by January 1st, but I got A MIGRAINE ON NEW YEAR'S EVE. **

**Someone's out to get me...**

"Speech"

_'Thought'_

_"Telepathy"_

To explain the question I just asked I'm going to have to refer back to my previous statements. I never expressed myself on my opinions. Whenever I talk to someone, meeting them for the first time or not, I always talk like anyone else: naming Pokemon as if they were possessions. But, again, I'm rambling.

Wally swiped back a lock of his hair and looked up at me, "Oh... He's a Ralts. A friend of mine helped me catch him."

_'Hm, well at least he didn't refer to his Pokemon as an "it", because then I'd have to talk to him about that. Also, another one of the Ralts family? Strange coincidences do happen.'_ True it was a bit weird to see another of one of the rarest Pokemon in Hoenn, but I didn't have time to dwell on it. Besides, it was not like it was impossible. "...And I hope you've been taking care of it, right?"

Wally perked up at that, "Of course...! I mean, I have to, right? It's my duty as a trainer to make sure he's happy."

_'Well, no, it's your job as a person, but it's fine, I like you anyway,'_ I thought to myself while laughing outwardly.

"Huh? What's so funny?" Wally asked with confusion clear on his face. The youngster was so innocent, it only made me laugh a bit harder.

I recovered from my fit and responded to him, "Nothing, nothing. Anyways, back on topic, I have to ask, do you know anything about the Ralts family?" I didn't exactly know how much HE knew but if he didn't know the important parts I would have to inform him. The Ralts family is a sensitive bunch after all.

The boy looked a bit ashamed, "Well, um, no... but he can't be that different... right?" Well, he is young; it makes sense that he'd be a bit clueless on this. Unfortunately, that also means that I have to explain quite a bit to him.

Unknowingly to myself, my voice became a tad more serious with him, "Wally, Ralts is the Feeling Pokemon, meaning they depend on you physically and emotionally. Whatever you feel emotionally, Ralts can feel. The horns that the whole line have are constantly in tune with the emotions around them, to humans and Pokemon alike. But since they become very attached to their trainer, they rely on their trainer to be happy. It's a very strong bond that you must never tamper with. Doing so really influences a Ralts' behavior. Also, I'm pretty sure that if they feel too much sadness or anger, they'll become depressed themselves, and not the easily reversible kind either." Only after my small speech did I see Wally's expression. He was wide-eyed with his mouth slightly agape.

"Oh, wow, um..." he paused, "...I didn't know that..." I could tell that I may have overdone it, by the way he was breaking down over the pressure of the responsibility he had. He lowered his head and cradled it in his hands, which were perched on his knees.

_'Whoops.'_

I spoke up, "But I'm sure you're a good, even great, trainer. As long as you stay happy, Ralts will stay happy." I tried reassuring him out of his breakdown in hopes that he wouldn't lose it.

He spontaneously picked himself up and stood straight, "Alright, I'll do it for my Pokemon! I'll show Brendan and everyone else that I can do this."

_'That was a strange and sudden change of attitude,'_ I thought before speaking up once again, "Brendan?"

"My friend," Wally replied.

"Ah."

"Um, can I ask you something mister?" Wally asked me as he returned back to his normal self.

"Sure, and just Dallas is fine," I don't know what it was, but I didn't like 'mister'. I always thought that it would be great to be a superior to others in a way but it never grew on me.

Wally scratched the back of his head, "How do you know about all that?"

I grew distant as my neck relaxed, which caused my head to rest on the wall behind me. My eyes swiveled to the door that led to Gardevoir's hallway. "Oh, no reason..." I replied cryptically.

To be honest I had done some research on Gardevoir's species as a whole. With all the nothing that's been happening lately, I found myself having time for things I wouldn't usually do, studying being one of them. I only knew a bit about Gardevoir, not the pre-evolutions or the male counter-part Gallade. I reasoned with myself that if I were to look after Gardevoir as a partner, that I should at least know her species, and I did. I learned a lot more than I really should have, actually. It only took me a couple days to learn almost all about her species, and another one for the historical facts.

He looked at me curiously, "Okay...?" I didn't respond as I continued staring past him. Wally squirmed and looked from side to side uncomfortably. I abruptly became aware of my current state and snapped out of it quickly.

Turning back to the boy, I addressed him, "...But that's not what we're talking about. You'll learn about what that is about later, for now I think your Ralts is healed." I preemptively told Wally, predicting the usual chime from the healing station. After having to listen one by one of people healing their team, I could time how how long the average "appointment" was. I had also completely memorized that tone as a result of being here so long. I could tell you the exact pitch and length of it by now, just a side effect.

After a second the 'ding!' did come and from behind the counter came Nurse Joy's voice. "Wally? Your Pokemon is all better now!" Wally cast me an incredulous look before running up to the counter. The nurse motioned for the boy to hold out his hand. Once he did she put a small red and white ball into his hand and clasped his hand around it. "Take good care of him, okay?" Nurse Joy beamed a smile at him.

Wally nodded and answered, "I will, ma'am!" Her smile gew a bit wider at his words. Wally ran back to me and showed me the Pokeball in his hands. He piped up, "Do you want to meet him?"

I blinked once and smiled, "Sure."

The boy smiled back and clicked the button that was in the center of the ball. It snapped open and a faint red beam bent and twisted until it reached the ground right beside Wally. It began to take shape into the creature that was a Ralts. Once it was complete, it changed colors to no only red but white and green. The Ralts had the usual green dome of hair on its head along with the red crystal that was apart of it. Being roughly a foot tall and a few inches in height meant that it wasn't a very intimidating being, quite the opposite actually. That's also probably why it reacted the way it did.

When the tiny creature saw me it yelped and hid behind Wally's leg and started sort of clawing it. It's understandable that it would be frightened, I mean, if you saw something literally five feet taller than you, wouldn't you be slightly intimidated?

Wally kneeled down to the Ralts, "This is Dallas, Ralts." The tiny creature hid its face, "Don't be shy, Ralts, he won't bite."

I smirked, _'You're one to talk.'_ I slid off of the chair and knelt down just like Wally.

Ralts froze and had an unexpected shift in its mood. What once was a timid Ralts was now a very curious one. It visibly hopped in front of me and stared. I couldn't explain it, maybe it felt Wally's emotions...?

The small Pokemon thrusted himself forward and latched onto my leg this time. Still shocked by the Pokemon's change of heart, all I could do was awkwardly stroke his green hair. The three of us just stayed like that in silence for a minute or two before the Ralts let go and hopped back to his trainer and onto his shoulder. Silence ensued for a moment before we regained our bearings and stood up.

I was the first to speak, "Okay... that wasn't what I was expecting. Anyway, have you thought of giving him a name?"

Wally thought for a second. "Well, no... not really," he admitted.

"You should think about it, it helps when building friendship between you two," I said with a smile.

He nodded feverishly, "Okay!"

My happiness grew at his determination. "I'll let you get back to your journey, then. May our paths cross again, Wally," I made a wiping motion with my hand: a simple wave goodbye. I turned around to face the door that led to a familiar hallway.

"Bye, Dallas," Wally called as he left through the Pokecenter's front doors with Ralts still placed on his shoulder.

I entered the hallway that I had been through what seemed like a thousand times. As I strided down the corridor, I had one thought on my mind, _'Speaking of names...'_

**A/N:Staying up all night, ranking up and taking names...**

**Sometimes I think I'm just an insomniac. I get like 3-5 hours of sleep most nights.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: School has started back up. Le sad.**

**FutureFighterV: To be honest, I'm surprised this really got any attention. You don't really have to do that if you don't want to.**

**LoL takes up so much of my day; it's insane.**

**...But I LIKE IT.**

"Speech"

_'Thought'_

_"Telepathy"_

**_..._**

_'...I think I have one in mind for Gardevoir, if she's okay with that, that is.'_ The thought was innocent enough. I just wanted to call her something other than Gardevoir, just to have our conversations feel less awkward. That is how that works, right? _'Well, no time for thinking I guess, I'm here,'_ and indeed I was. The same three-numbered door was right in front of me. '015,' that number will have a spot in my memory forever. I made to reach for the simple metal handle, when a sudden sound stopped me. To be specific, a certain bubbly voice stopped me.

"Ah, Dallas, I thought you'd come back here pretty soon," it was Nurse Joy. I pulled my hand back and turned to meet Nurse Joy's stare. She had her hands behind her back and was teetering on her heels. The small gesture showed that she was hiding something.

I inserted my hands into my jacket pockets and responded, "Yeah... I don't want to be too much of a burden to you since you already have so much to deal with."

The nurse smirked, "Is that all?"

The sudden question caught me off guard. "What?" I said while raising an eyebrow in surprise.

She giggled and responded in a sing-song way, "Oh, nothing~" I didn't feel like bringing that back up, so I let it drop. Nurse Joy continued, "Anyways, I came here to give you this." She pulled her hands out from behind her back to reveal a simple, small Pokeball. I groaned silently. All trainers had to keep their Pokemon either in a Pokeball or in a PC. Since I wasn't about to go with the latter, that left me with the one choice. I didn't really want to know how Gardevoir would react to such a thing, and I did not want to know. I already wasn't "on board" with the whole thing, but I knew the consequences of not doing so. Decisions, decisions.

If a trainer didn't have a Pokeball for a Pokemon of theirs, the Pokemon would be deemed "wild" or "a potential threat". Actually, the last one would only happen if the Pokemon was in a public building or on the streets but the point should still come across clearly, right? Usually the Pokemon in question would be taken from the trainer until it was properly "captured". If the trainer failed to do so within a certain time period, the Pokemon would be released back into the wild. Unfortunately, it mostly happens to the younger trainers that are less educated on the subject. I have never once seen anything like that happen, and I never want to. The only real upside to this law is that some very abusive trainers can be caught like this. Believe it or not, a very few amount of "trainers"-I shivered- treat their Pokemon so badly that they don't even have a Pokeball for them. I absolutely despise those people for obvious reasons.

_'Don't think about it...'_ I always told myself this whenever I got caught up doing something like this. It did me no good to think about something that I couldn't effectively help. Mostly all it took was a few deep breaths and a small mantra to calm me out of this, and right now was no different. It only took a record four seconds to put myself at ease.

Nurse Joy saw my reaction, "Err... Are you okay, Dallas? Anything wrong?" Nurse Joy rose an eyebrow and continued to oggle me.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine, just," I contemplated whether to tell her or not. I decided not to. "Nothing, it's nothing." I silently approached Nurse Joy and took the small orb from her hand. Everytime I thought about that it would affect both my mood an attitude for a while. Only a few times had I depressed myself while travelling. I made sure it only happened when I was alone. I think it happened at least once in each region I have been to, so at least three. I've only been to Hoenn, Johto, and Kanto so far.

I sighed as I looked the Pokeball over once. _'I may as well get it over with,'_ I thought as I turned around without a word. I once again reached for the handle and grasped it. I shivered as I turned the handle; should I be this nervous? The door made a little creaking noise as it opened... to reveal Gardevoir's sleeping form. I mentally facepalmed when I remembered that simple fact._ 'Of course she's still asleep, it's only been about, what, twenty minutes?'_ I berated myself.

She looked so peaceful resting there. It warmed my heart that she was finally done with her misery. The painful experience she went through is something I wouldn't wish upon even my worst enemy. Once again I examined the sphere in my hand, then looked back to Gardevoir. I guessed it would have to wait, so I pocketed the small device.

A sudden yawn from me made me come to my senses. I don't know how long I was standing there, so I decided it wasn't that long. I blinked a couple of times before I started thinking again,_ 'Am I really tired again? Moreover, am I going to wait until she wakes up?'_ I paused for a whole second before I casually walked to my usual seat, plopped onto it, and thought, _'Yes I am.'_

...And so, I fell unconscious.

**_..._**

Gardevoir's eyes snapped open and she sat up as she awoke in a cold sweat. Yet again, another nightmare rocked her sleep violently. She never thought for a second that something like this would happen to her. She was so reckless that day. There was no reason why she should've been spotted, but her confidence got the better of her as it seems. She couldn't let it happen again.

The Embrace Pokemon scanned the room and, not surprisingly, found her "trainer". He had told her the first day about the whole "adoption" thing, but she didn't really understand a single thing he said, but she didn't entirely care all that much. She had more pressing matters on her mind. The gardevoir's sight fell on a certain red and white ball in his hand. His palm was pressing it down into the chair's armrest and his fingers were curled around it.

For the first time that day, Gardevoir got up. Throwing the covers off of her, she swung her feet over the edge and landed softy on the cold floor. A chill went up her spine at the sudden change in temperature. She had gotten so used to the warmth of the Center's bed that any change in temperature was more noticeable than it should be. She made her way around the bed and over to him. Carefully, she removed his grip from the Pokeball; unfurling his fingers and finally slipping it out from under his hand.

She had heard of these contraptions before. Every Pokemon she met had a different opinion of them, whether it be "they're pure evil" or "they're not so bad". She had no personal thoughts on them. She didn't have any experience with humans or their technology. All she knew of was their existence and what they looked like. Sure, she had stumbled upon a town or two, but she didn't find anything she could learn off of them.

Rolling the ball on her open hand, she remembered how she first learned of these things... Wait, now she's crying.

_'I don't have to let it happen again...'_

**...**

An undetermined amount of time later and I felt myself waking up. My eyes fluttered before I reached up to rub the sleep out of them. I pulled away and opened my eyes finally to see Gardevoir; and she was standing right in front of me. I have to say, that did make me blink in minor astonishment. Her presence instantly woke me up, as it was rare for her to get up let alone interact with me in such a way. Being bedridden didn't exactly make you the most outgoing person or Pokemon in this case.

As I regained my bearings, I noticed that the Pokeball that I fell asleep with wasn't in my hand anymore. I thought that I must have dropped it, so I began to check every place that the ball could have fallen into in a fit of confusion. I ultimately came up empty handed.

I heard a giggle, and looked up. Gardevoir had her hand over her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laughing. She held the other hand out and showed me the object I was looking for. As it turns out, she had taken it while I was asleep. Her behavior got me curious.

I looked at her quizzically but still took the Pokeball from her. "What were you doing with this?" I asked her innocently, trying not to sound annoyed or anything. Luckily she didn't notice and proceeded to point at the small button that was on the ball. The capture function I think it was. Wait, the capture function? I looked back at her incredulously, "Gardevoir, did you...?" She only nodded and, for the first time, I saw her smile.

...And I smiled right back.

Something was missing, though. She had already captured herself, the plan that I had on my mind when I entered this room, so what was I forgetting again?

_'Oh, right.'_

"Hey, Gardevoir," I started. She silently answered with her gaze. "I was thinking about this earlier and I had to ask you: do you want a name?" She cocked her head to the side, indicating clear confusion. Of course, I didn't expect her to be ecstatic about it, but I didn't think she would have no idea what I was talking about. I had to clarify, "You know, like mine? See, I view Pokemon as equals to humans, even if others don't think so. I just thought that, you know, maybe you'd want to be called something other than 'Gardevoir'." She straightened back up and widened her a little; seems like she understands now. She looked embarrassed as her neck went almost limp and dipped her head low. She seems to have become very fascinated at the floor's texture.

She nodded ever so slightly in agreement. I smiled, "In that case, do you want to think of one-" She shook her head and pointed to me. The sudden gesture was a bit surprising, but I thought nothing of it. "...Okay, I had one in mind anyway." She stood motionless.

"How about 'Jen'?" She didn't move an inch.

I elaborated, "It's short for Jennifer, I just thought that you may like it. If you don't, it's fine, I can think of another one." She looked up at me. The first thing I noticed was the smile she was showing and her overall happiness. What confused me was how she had a tear forming on the corner of her eye.

She unexpectedly lunged forward and wrapped her arms around me. The air left my lungs, not because I was caught off guard but because the spike that Gardevoir had jabbed me where my diaphragm would be. I dealt with it as long as I could before I finally caved because I felt like I was about to go through asphyxia. "Gardevoir," I sputtered, "I... can't... breathe..." She quickly let go and shied away worriedly. I gulped down as much oxygen as I could to sate my lungs. I took a moment to recover before laughing shakily, "I'll take it you like it then?" She nodded happily. "I'm glad," I stopped, "Well, since everything is cleared up now," I motioned to the door, "shall we take our leave?" She nodded in agreement once again.

So the both of us left, feeling better than we had a week ago. After a few formal goodbyes to Nurse Joy, we finally exited the building and made our way through the large city. I felt it was a long shot to go back into the wild and not expect company, so I thought of a "Plan B". With such a large city, you'd think there would be a hotel, right?

_**...**_

**A/N: Fact: Last chapter was chapter six.**

**Fact: As a joke I labeled it "SixSixSix".**

**Fact: After I submitted it I noticed that the chapter was 1,666 words. Coincidence?**

**Yeah, probably.**

**Sorry for the wait on this one. I got a taste of what "writer's block" is like on one specific part of this.**

**Also, it's Jen.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Not much to say here except for "Thanks for reading."**

**Yeah, that's pretty much it.**

**Rosco Peeko Trane: I was continuing what I did in the AN at the end of chapter four.**

**(P.S. This is kind of like your parting gift for going back to school)**

**(Yeah I remebered that)**

**So ellipses work.**

"Speech"

_'Thought'_

_"Telepathy"_

_**...**_

Indeed there was.

It didn't take long to find one of the presumably many hotels that make up this city. On every side of the building were a few berry trees to add a sort of natural appeal to it. The structure itself was mostly glass windows on the outside and very similar to the buildings surrounding it, the only difference being that it was considerably shorter than most of the structures. This particular hotel was probably a less popular one but very good looking none the less. The building looked promising enough-

I turned and asked my partner, "What do you think?"

Jen nodded in acceptance.

-and it looks like it got a stay from us.

The front had a small fountain to look fancier than it really was. I couldn't help but feel somewhat confident in myself as we both passed it. Then again, almost everything in this city is supposed to feel expensive and confidence-boosting. When we made it to the entrance we were greeted by the generic sliding doors that were always a part of buildings now.

Stepping through, I soaked in the look of the interior. Overall it was what I would call plain, just how I liked it. Nothing too flashy or amazing standed out as

something that would be deemed "higher class". The lobby we entered was completely decorated in normal dull-ish golden colored walls and similarly tinted armchairs and couches. The woodwork of the room was exceptionally complicated compared to everything else in the foyer but it must have been to keep up with the high expectations of being located in Rustboro. Immediately to the left was a wooden counter which, as stated before, had an intricate design to it. If I had to guess, I would think that was where you check-in.

"Anything I can help you with, sir?" Wow, am I a Psychic-type or what?

I stepped up to the counter with Jen in sync, "Actually, you can. We would like to rent a room to stay the night." I laid an arm on the counter and leaned on it casually.

The young woman behind the counter was a fairly short and brunette girl with a formal black vest on and a white long sleeve dress shirt under it. She had green eyes with a paled face. Her makeup added some color to her cheeks but not much. With her arms folded downwards and behind the desk, she looked like a professional.

She nodded with a smile and started typing on a PC that was hidden behind the counter. "I can help with that. I just need your Trainer's License, or, if you don't have one, just give me your basic information. Since you have a gardevoir with you, though, I can assume you have a license?" She held her hand out suggestively.

It was illegal to own a Pokemon without a license but not illegal to not have it on you at all times. Of course, you have to get it redeemed after a certain amount of time, and you would have to show it for some reason eventually, such as buying Pokeballs. It's kind of like how adults need to show their ID to buy liquor, but I digress.

As I have said before and I will say it again, "Indeed I do have one." I produced the license from the wallet in my back pocket. I placed the card into her waiting hand and let her work.

The girl nodded, "Thank you, this will only take a second." She read the information and typed it into the PC, just like Nurse Joy had done days ago. I just stared off like I normally do, I always had a tendency to grow bored easily.

_**...**_

"Sir?"

"Hm?" I was taken away from my thoughts as the girl behind the counter finished.

"You're in room 282, have a nice stay." She winked at me and held out two cards: my Trainer's License and a key card that I assumed was for the room. I took the two items from her and thanked her before turning to leave. I could only wonder why she winked as I followed a couple signs to the elevator.

In a small room to the right of the lobby were the lifts in question. I pressed the plain white arrow-shaped button that was next to the sliding doors, causing it to light up.

Feeling a growing curiosity brewing behind me and being directed toward me, I looked over my shoulder to investigate. Jen had an eye widened in a confused expression, probably wondering why I was pressing buttons on a seemingly empty wall. She finally spoke up, _"Why would you-?"_ Her question was short lived, however, when the wall made a bell-like noise and opened up into an empty, yet tiny, room. Jen took a step back in surprise of this event; this was her first time seeing human technology up close.

I, on the other hand, took a step forward, noticed she was not following, turned back, smirked, and gestured her inside. She hesitantly followed and settled into the corner of the elevator. The doors closed and I chose to wait on pressing a button.

Jen looked my way again, this time with half an eye closed while the other was wide open, looking at me as if I was crazy. Once again she tried questioning me, _"Why are we in here...?"_ I reached in front of me and pressed the button for the second floor.

The elevator lurched upwards as soon as it was given the command. This prompted an immediate reaction from Jen as she gripped the metal bars that were behind her for support. A terrified look crossed her face for a brief moment as her eyes widened before calming down. I chuckled at her overreaction, which in turn caused her face to go red. She placed her face in her hands as she slid from leaning against the wall to sitting on the floor of the lift. I will admit I felt a bit bad about embarrassing her like that but it was pretty funny.

About a second later and the elevator stopped on the second floor. The doors opened to let us off, so I got Jen's attention and offered her a hand up. She looked up to meet my eyes, and I flashed her a smile. She took my hand and got up to stand at her full height, which was what looked a little over five feet. We exited the small room and headed down the corridor together. Since the number '282' was close to an end number, we would be walking for a minute or two.

_**...**_

I sighed before sitting down on the chair that was provided in the room. Jen, at first, was a tad overwhelmed by the change in scenery of the room and seemed confused by it. She eventually got used to it and settled down on one of the two beds that were in here. Thinking to myself, I decided that we should not get too comfortable. It was not that late in the day, since we woke up so early. It must be around noon, maybe? Checking my watch confirmed my assumption; it was around a quarter to noon.

Thinking about it some more, Rustboro was always a popular tourist spot, maybe we could roam around here for a bit? We should probably get some lunch first, I know I'm starving. As if on cue, my stomach made its displeasure known.

Yep, that seals it, we are definitely touring the city.

First, though, I would have to bathe. Being in the Pokecenter for so long did not leave a very positive effect on me. They had a shower in the back, but I barely used it, something always kept me from doing so.

Getting up, I walked past the two beds, earning a glance from my partner, and into the bathroom. I turned the nozzle on the bathtub until it was just touching the red on the temperature indicator. Making sure the drain was plugged, I tested the water to make sure what was coming out was up to par. When I turned around, I heard a clang come from the bathtub. I can check it out after I am done here.

I allowed myself a smirk as I stripped out of my clothes. Usually when I am camping out, I do not have the time to bathe like this. This is one of the things I sometimes miss when I leave town.

Finally done with undressing I faced the tub and noticed that the surface was covered in bubbles and was quickly rising. Quickly turning the knob to the off position, I rummaged around the bottom of the tub until I pulled out a bottle; the shampoo bottle to be exact. Apparently I had knocked it off on accident when I turned around. Ah, well, I could use a bubble bath anyway.

I slipped into the tub and pulled the curtains back. Immediately I felt a sense of relief wash over me. It was a great feeling, to finally relax like this, and I am glad that nothing could disturb me during this.

The door opened.

Of course the door opened, why wouldn't it?

_**...**_

**A/N: I have been told that Season 5 of League of Legends is starting tomorrow.**

**...So I'll see you all in about ten...**

**...****_Months_****.**

**(Nah, not really)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Wow, more than two weeks and no update. I really feel like I let everyone down on this one. I'm really sorry guys.**

**A whole week of the time I set aside for writing this fic was obstructed, my birthday was four days ago, blah blah blah real life blah.**

**I think we've all heard something like this before, hm?**

**In other news, my internet provider has decided that it does not want to work well with LoL.**

**Why me?**

"Speech"

_'Thought'_

_"Telepathy"_

**_..._**

There is no way I forgot to lock that thing.

I have not forgotten to do anything like that since I was around, what, ten? Let me think back... No, I definitely did lock it. Wait, did I? How am I unable to even remember something like that?!

_"Dallas, please don't be mad that I broke that door thing... It wouldn't open so I undid whatever was keeping it closed..." _her nervous telepathic voice went through my mind clearly but it only served to confuse me.

...She broke it...?

Listening, I heard her start to roam around the room. I could not hear her footsteps, so I had to strain my ears to hear the rustling of her "dress". From what I gathered, she was in front of the sink right now. My suspicions were confirmed when, after a moment, the sink turned on at full blast and was followed by a squeak from her in surprise. She must have stumbled a bit by the noise I was hearing. "Voir…?" she whispered her species' vernacular this time, as if to keep whatever she said a secret.

During all of this, I had stayed completely still to not draw any attention. I tried interrupting her expedition, "Jen, could you, maybe, wait in the other room? I'm kind of busy here…"

I knew she could tell exactly where I was, but I tried to not get her too close. Deep inside I could tell that what I said would never work like that but for obvious reasons, I really did want to drive her away for the moment. Luckily, though, the accidental bubbles would be a useful cover for… you know…

As I suspected, she had no idea what I was talking about. _"Doing…what…?"_ she asked with more confusion than curiosity like I thought she would. Then again, it's possible that she may be thinking that there is no way I could be doing something so important in such a small room like she always does. Maybe if I just answered she would leave…? I figured it was worth a shot.

I answered shakily, "Well, uh, I'm actually bathing here…"

I did not hear a response for as, I assumed, she mulled things over. _"I don't think… I'll understand any of this any time soon…" _she nervously answered to me. Another moment passed before I heard her speak up again, _"Could I join you…?"_

_'…__WHAT?!' _I almost choked when I heard that. She really must not know anything about humans or the implications of that to ask something like that. I could think of two reasons as to why Jen would suggest that: the first being that she must think that humans' clothes are a part of their bodies, and the second being something to do with her species.

Her species, as many know, are powerful Psychic-types. As such, they are able to overpower and subdue most other species with the power of their minds with ease. Getting to the point, what they are able to do is mess with the individuals' around them's eyes so that they do not see things they should, if you understand what I am suggesting. So, basically, they are putting up an illusion to keep out unwanted attention.

Feeling relieved that I did so much reading last week, I could now pull something like this, "Remember, Jen, I'm not a psychic."

My two suspicions from before must have been right because she followed up with another question, _"…Isn't that cloth-?"_

I felt a bit guilty for interrupting her, but I heard her coming closer and that is where the physical line was crossed. "No! No it is not!" I added in desperately to keep her at bay while instinctively sinking into the soapy bubbles to make myself look miniscule.

She must have picked up on my fear, for she gave up quickly and whimpered, _"I'm sorry! I'm sorry…"_

This is where I felt really bad. I have no idea if I scared her or embarrassed her, so I decided both. Her sniveling drew my attention as soon as I heard it. She must have thought I was scolding her or something similar to it. I never had the intention of that but if it came out that way then I had to fix it.

"Hey… I'm not mad at you. I just need a minute, okay?" I said as sweetly and forgiving as I could manage to her. Luckily since she can pick up on emotions she noticed immediately.

She responded solemnly, _"I'll wait over here…"_ I heard the familiar noise of a door handle rattling and the click of the door closing. I stayed in silence for a moment to try and hear any sounds from the other room. None came.

I hurried as quickly as I could to be done with this bath. Taking a quick dunk of my head under water, I finished and grabbed a towel from right behind the curtain and dried off. I threw the now wet towel over and onto the sink's counter after getting redressed. Quickly combing over my hair and tossing it back, I finally placed a hand onto the door handle. The last thing I thought before I opened it was, _'She's a lot more sensitive than I thought.'_

Stepping out of the small room, I was not able to see any first signs of the gardevoir. The room was exactly how I left it before cleaning up: pretty much every untouched and my backpack unopened and in the corner of the room. The one thing that wasn't the same was the tiny protuberance coming from under one of the blankets on the left bed.

_'__I must have really scared her…?' _I was not quite sure why she was acting this way. It was not like I was even remotely annoyed with her, but she seemed to think that I was furious or something. Also, continuing to hide like a child is something that only anxiety-like issues can cause, or just a general fear. I could not decide which I would rather deal with at this rate.

Getting right to it, I tried to comfort her. "Hey," I said softly while approaching her. I prompted the right reaction: she pulled the covers down to sneak a peek at me. Lucky for me, though, she did not break eye contact with me, letting me show her a smile before getting onto the end of the bed and crossing my legs. I finally continued, "You know I'm not mad at you, right? It was my fault for not really explaining any of this stuff to you, and from now on I'll probably do better on that." I stopped to chuckle lightly at the craziness of this all. I kept going, "Also, by the looks of it, you didn't even break the door. Maybe you damaged the locking mechanism, but that looks to be about it."

Jen looked at me with pleading eyes, _"Really…?"_

I grew more and more concerned for her behavior the more she cowered like this. Although the Ralts family may seem like weak emotionally, they were actually pretty tough. It is true that they always have to be in-tune with the emotions around them, but they can usually bear them. Seeing Jen like this after just a small outburst is a tad scary. Something must have happened to her for her to resort to such displays of fear. I made a mental tab to find out about this as soon as possible.

Actually, now that I think about it, Jen should have been able to sense I held no ill intentions, right?

I answered, "Really. But can I ask you something?" Her head was fully uncovered, so she nodded hesitantly. "Shouldn't you have been able to feel that I wasn't mad? I know a good bit about your species now, but I'm a bit confused about you specifically."

She averted her gaze, _"Self-defense…"_

Cocking an eyebrow, I responded, "Hm? From what?"

Her eyes darted rapidly from side to side, _"Err… Um… Predators. We can shut down our Psychic abilities so that it's harder to detect us."_

_'__That's pretty smart… and funny.'_ The implications of what she said hit me. Maybe if I bring it up it will lighten her mood. "You think I'm a predator?"

_"__It scared me and it's a…force… of habit…"_ It apparently only proved to make matters worse as she had turned nervous in the split second she got to the second part of her sentence. She began continuously fidgeting, tightening her grip on the blanket and making a sort of rubbing motion, and looking around the room as if she were paranoid of _something_.

_'__Okay bad idea, bad idea, bad idea.'_ This truly was bad. Behavior like this is usually only seen in people who either have some sort of case of paranoia or PTSD. If I were to guess from how my statement just triggered this, I would say PTSD. Something must have happened to her to make her like this, and I will find out what.

Thinking more on it, I am pretty sure that it is way better to treat post-traumatic stress disorder immediately…

…Wait, she's having a mental breakdown! This could be bad! Psychic-types are notorious for needing a well mental state, for if they do not, they could be a serious hazard to those around them. It can be a major legal issue if they snap in a public area -or at all for that matter- and we were currently in a hotel in a major city. I have to calm her down now or else there could be consequences. I have no experience in actually dealing with this, but I will try my hardest.

I reached up to pull the white blanket out of her hands so that I could sit her up. I grabbed hold of her hand tenderly as to not startle her. If there is anything I learned from her sudden breakdown is that the word that caused this was "predator", meaning that, well, that could definitely be the thing that is causing her harm.

Once she was up, I shifted up next to her until I could properly reach my arm around her and pull her the rest of the way toward me. Surprisingly, she did not refuse anything or struggle out from beside me. All she did was curl up into a ball and hugged her knees closer to herself.

"Deep breaths, it'll help you calm down. You're safe here, nothing will harm you here…" I kept repeating phrases similar to this one to help her relax. Eventually she did, but she refused to move. Instead, she simply lied down and fell asleep. I could not blame her since I myself do not know how frightening a condition like that can truly be.

I had already released my arm from around her a while ago, and was already contemplating what to do next. There was no telling when another one of her episodes would come up or how intense it would be.

_'__We can't go anywhere like this, it's too risky.' _As I was thinking on this, my stomach growled yet again, _'…Oh right, and that.'_

Making a decision, I picked up the hotel room phone that was conveniently placed on the nightstand and dialed the number for room service.

I took a last glance at Jen and thought to myself forlornly, _'Jen, what happened to you?'_

**_..._**

**A/N: Semester two of my school year starting took more out of me than I thought it would. But since I got over the whole time constraint thing, I can go back to a regular updating schedule.**

**See you in Chapter 10.**


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